This isn't the highest-level Mondeo you can buy, but it's not far off. Titanium X is the name Ford gives to the recently revised range's top trim level, which includes a substantial amount of equipment including previously absent safety features such as Lane Departure and Blind Spot Warning. And of the three versions of the two-litre TDCi turbo diesel engine you can buy, this is the most powerful at 161bhp (the 163 in the title referring to those beastly foreign Pferdestaerke or chevaux vapeur which are the metric equivalent).According to the official EU figures, this engine shares the same 53.3mpg combined fuel economy of its 113bhp and 138bhp fellows, but that's largely a peculiarity of the economy test cycle which all three can get through with the same effort. It would be a different story if you used the 161bhp car's performance potential, which includes a 136mph top speed and a 0-62mph time of 8.9 seconds - and if you didn't, you might as well save money and buy one of the less powerful units instead.I'd guess that achieving 53.3mpg with this car would be perfectly possible, though you'd have to work at it. I didn't work at it, and was therefore rather pleased that in normal motoring - not slow, but not hurried either - the test car managed around 45mpg. Given the size of the Mondeo's fuel tank, this equates to a range between refills of over 600 miles, which I achieved twice and was rather pleased about.Some of that tankful involved motorway driving. The second involved almost nothing else, and it was during that period that I felt happiest with the car. It's smooth, it's quiet, and the engine is so flexible that I could leave the six-speed manual gearbox in top for hours on end.Driving the Mondeo was more of a trial on any road that didn't have a central reservation. I hesitate to disagree with that excellent fellow Tom Stewart, but I have to admit I am at variance with him when he praises, as he did in our launch report of the revised Mondeo, its ride quality and general suspension wonderfulness.For me, the Mondeo feels clumsy both in town and on any road with an interesting number and variety of corners. Another colleague who feels the same way reckons that it's because these days the Mondeo is too big (there's certainly a lot more of it than there was of the original 1993 car, which handled superbly), and although I think Ford's chassis people could nevertheless do a better job of keeping the car's bulk in control I also reckon he has a good point there.The size, on the other hand, has benefits both for humans - of which you can carry four large specimens without difficulty - and for their luggage. With the rear seats in place, the boot capacity is a very impressive 528 litres, and if you fold those seats down the available space increases to 1448 litres. That's better than almost any obvious rival can manage, with the exception of the Skoda Superb.Ford has maintained the early 21st century standards of the motor industry by creating windows which are too small (reversing at night is positively scary) but is bucking the trend when it comes to satellite navigation graphics. In some cars, these make you feel you've wandered on to the set of a Tim Burton film. In the Mondeo, if the satnav suggests you should go left, for example, it simply displays a vertical line with a left-facing arrow sticking out of the top. It couldn't be simpler, yet it couldn't be more effective. Engine 1997cc, 4 cylinders Power 163bhp Transmission 6-speed manual Fuel/CO2 53.3mpg / 139g/km
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